Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Re: nephesh mot

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
  • To: furuli AT online.no
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Re: nephesh mot
  • Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 12:55:34 -0700

On 24/08/2003 01:23, furuli AT online.no wrote:


2. A word dos have meaning apart from a context. If we asked a group of people how they would understand the English word "soul," we would get a whole range of different comments, but probably we would find some elements which were common to most, or all comments.

I doubt it, unless you can find some common semantic element between the Greek concept of an immortal part of the human being and a style of music. The word "soul" with no context will trigger one meaning for some English speakers and the other for some others.


...
There are Bible translations that consistently render NEPE$ by "soul," and by looking up these passages, one can see that this is meaningful - although it requires more mental exercise from the reader, because he or she must do more interpretations - than when the word is interpreted by the translators.

The trouble with this is that, even if we use accept your model, there is minimal overlap between the fuzzy Hebrew concept of NEPE$ and average English speakers' even more fuzzy concept of soul.



5. Concepts do not exist for the purpose of definition, but in a discussion we need to say something about the core meaning. The core meaning of NEPE$, as I understand it, is "a living creature with the right to live". ...

This is a reasonable understanding. The trouble is that it has nothing at all to do with any common core meaning of soul in English, neither the idea of the immortal part of the human nor a style of music.


--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page